Free High Marks for Murder (A Bellehaven House Mystery Book 1) by Kate Kingsbury

relief in Olivia's voice when she asked, "So you're not going to tell her?"
    "You're in enough trouble already." Mrs. Wilkins held Grace's fingers under the tap and let the cold water run while she scrubbed. "Miss Fingle will probably take away your afternoons off for a month."
    Olivia muttered something she didn't catch. "Well, we're not the only ones in trouble," she added. "We saw one of the pupils from here having a big row with Victor Silkwood right in the middle of the street. If you ask me, he's probably going to report her to Mrs. Llewellyn. I wouldn't want to be in that girl's shoes when the headmistress finds out."
    Mrs. Wilkins frowned. "Which pupil was that, then?"
    "Don't know her name."
    Grace uttered a squeak of protest as Mrs. Wilkins dug under her nails with a toothpick.
    The cook let her go, and turned off the tap. "There, that's the best I can do. Now go and face the music with Miss Fingle, then you both come right back here. You've got a lot to catch up on."
    She watched the girls trudge out the door, but her mind was on the girl Olivia had mentioned. Why in heaven'sname would a Bellehaven girl be crossing swords with one of the richest men in the county? She couldn't be his daughter, since everyone knew the Silkwoods had no daughters. Moreover, Mrs. Wilkins knew every pupil in the school, and as far as she knew, none of them were related to the prominent family.
    A notable connection such as that would certainly be blazoned all over the school, and while Mrs. Wilkins would be the last person to admit she was a gossip, she was rather proud of her ability to know everyone and everything that went on under the illustrious roofs of Bellehaven.
    Deciding that perhaps she should have a word with Mrs. Llewellyn about the incident, she turned her attention to that day's main meal.

Chapter 7
    Sylvia Montrose arrived in the middle of the morning , accompanied by a startling amount of baggage. Meredith felt quite sorry for poor Reggie, who struggled valiantly to haul a large trunk and several valises up the stairs to the new teacher's chamber.
    Miss Montrose appeared younger and decidedly more comely than Meredith had envisioned—a fact that rather irritated her, though she couldn't imagine why.
    The new instructress spoke in a soft voice that was at times difficult to hear, with a slight lisp that was bound to invite trouble from some of the more unruly students.
    She had a way of twitching her eyes about, as if inspecting her surroundings. Judging from her expression, Bellehaven fell rather short of her expectations.
    Confused to find herself so defensive, Meredith made an extra effort to be accommodating. She waited for an hour in order to allow Miss Montrose to settle in, before politely tapping on her door.
    It opened immediately, and she was relieved to note that Miss Montrose seemed a little less disparaging as she greeted her.
    "I thought you might like to meet some of your students," Meredith said, after she had conducted a short tour of the school. "I asked Miss Cross to take your class this morning, and I'm quite sure she'll be delighted to see you."
    "Likewise," Sylvia murmured in her soft voice. "I'm anxious to begin teaching."
    "Mr. Hamilton tells me you are quite experienced," Meredith said, as she led the other woman down the long corridor. "He mentioned that you were very well recommended."
    Personally, she thought Sylvia Montrose looked too young to be either. Her appearance—the fresh face and smooth skin, the slim figure and the lightness of her step—suggested the woman wasn't much older than Essie. The fact that Sylvia was not yet married added weight to that assumption.
    "I have tutored quite a few children in many subjects," Sylvia murmured.
    Meredith wondered what that had to do with managing a household, but held her tongue. She had to assume that Stuart Hamilton knew what he was doing. "You may find the pupils at Bellehaven quite different from the charges to whom you are accustomed."